


i will do my best to be...

by picht



Category: Bandom, My Chemical Romance
Genre: Alternate Universe, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Girl Scouts, M/M, Mutual Pining, Not Actually Unrequited Love, Pining, Single Parents, bert mccracken who is a GOOD AND COOL GUY, girl scout leader!gerard, more tags to be added as i update the fic, single parent!frank
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-29
Updated: 2018-04-29
Packaged: 2019-04-14 16:04:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,392
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14139555
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/picht/pseuds/picht
Summary: It’s Friday evening, 6 PM, and Frank is fucking nervous. Griffon’s first meeting with this new troop begins in fifteen minutes, and they’ve been sitting in the church parking lot for the past five. There’s a lot of things that could go wrong here, is the thing. Hopefully, Frank thinks, third time’s the charm.***single dad!frank has a seven year old daughter named griffon. he very much wants her to be involved with girl scouts, but they've had issues with troops in the past not working out upon the leaders and volunteers discovering griffon is trans. they're trying one more time, ENTER GERARD, STAGE LEFT. gerard and lynz are the leaders of the new girl scout troop. they're best friends and started the troop together when lynz couldn't find a troop she liked for her daughter bandit. gerard is CUTE. gerard is FUNNY. gerard is GOOD WITH KIDS. frank? frank is smitten. so now he's found the perfect troop for his daughter, but he has to cope with his newfound feelings for her goddamn girl scout leader, all the while keeping anyone from finding out, because if they did, he would straight up die, for real.[new tags will be added as the story progresses / rating may change / probably slow updates, sorry y'all]





	1. honest and fair

**Author's Note:**

> WOW UMMMMM HI. ok so. i know everyone knows me as the monster fucking lady, and i have no regrets for that fact, but a side you may NOT know about me is that i am a girl scout leader myself! and girl scouts is seriously amazing, y'all. i've been wanting to write kid fic and shit for FOREVER, and i couldn't get this idea out of my head, so. here it is!
> 
> here is...the thing: i am a BAD writer. by this i mean i have no motivation most of the time. this has been sitting in my google drive for literal months, and i haven't been able to write more of it, but i really wanna get it out there, so i'm tentatively attempting to turn it into a chaptered fic. i have about half of a second chapter written so far, but updates are probably going to be really slow because i kinda have a full time life and my motivation for writing is kinda sporadic.
> 
> if slow updates doesn't discourage you, please read this! and if you enjoy it, please tell me! comments and kudos (but especially COMMENTS) keep me going and will probably result in me updating faster.

It’s Friday evening, 6 PM, and Frank is fucking nervous. Griffon’s first meeting with this new troop begins in fifteen minutes, and they’ve been sitting in the church parking lot for the past five. There’s a lot of things that could go wrong here, is the thing. At 6:05, Frank decides to go down the list.

First of all, there’s the tattoo thing. Frank looks like a fucking punk, and he likes looking like that! But in his experience, with the past two troops they’ve tried, the parents at the meetings don’t necessarily like it. Now, Frank isn’t about the let some bitchy PTA mom ruin his daughter’s ability to have fun and learn things and be herself in what is supposed to be a safe environment, but it still kinda sucks when they’re on their way home from a meeting and Griffon asks her daddy why none of the other parents in the troop like him.

That’s not really _it_ , though. That’s not the real issue here. The second, and much more important reason that this could go terribly wrong is the little fact that Griffon happens to be a 7 year old trans girl. Frank tries desperately to keep people from finding this out, knowing that if no one is aware, there’s no way they’ll be able to figure it out, but somehow, in the last two troops they’ve tried, it’s gotten out in the open. Frank doesn’t know how, but it has, and they’ve had to leave two troops because of it.

Hopefully, Frank thinks, third time’s the charm.

Frank for sure was the first person in the church parking lot, having arrived twenty minutes early, and it’s not till 6:10 when someone else pulls up. Frank tries to subtly look out his window at the person who has just arrived. A man, Frank thinks, with long, bright red hair. He’s wearing combat boots, and Frank feels relieved that he may not be too much of a sore thumb here.

Frank waits for this dude’s kid to come out, but when one never does, he becomes confused. Then he sees the man open the trunk of his old ass subaru, and then reach his arms in to retrieve an entire armsful of things, and he thinks, _leader?_ Frank has heard of elusive male girl scout leaders, but is pretty shocked to see one in the wild.

The man looks like he’s about to topple over under the weight of big box of what looks to be craft supplies, and Frank thinks this is the perfect opportunity to make a good impression. He looks back at Griffon, who, obviously just as anxious as Frank, has been sitting quietly for the past fifteen minutes. She’s still clearly excited, though, practically vibrating out of her skin. Frank can’t help but smile.

“You ready to get out of the car, Griff?” Frank asks, and Griffon’s eyes widen comically. She nods her head–short, excited bursts, and doesn’t wait for Frank to get out and open her door, instead kicking it open herself and practically flinging herself out of her booster seat.

The leader(?) looks up at the noise of a seven year old on a mission, and grins when he sees Griffon ambling towards him, ready to introduce herself. His eyes land on Frank, then, eyes widening as he takes in the tattoos, and Frank _knew_ he should have worn long sleeves, but then he just smiles in Frank’s direction.

“Hi!” He says, and after a moment of thinking, decides to sit his box of stuff back into his trunk so he can lean down and shake Griffon’s hand. “I’m Gerard! Might I ask who you are?”

“I’m Griffon with an O,” she says, and shakes his hand seriously. Frank strolls up upon them just in time to hear this, and rolls his eyes.

“Hello, Griffin With An O! Would you happen to be my new Brownie?” So, definitely a leader, then.

“Yep!” She says, popping the p, and Gerard laughs.

“Hey,” he says, looking up at Frank now, holding out his hand. “I’m Gerard, I’m one of the leaders. There’s two of us, me and Lindsey. You’re… Frank, right?” he asks, having obviously read the report that there was a new girl and volunteer in the troop.

“Yeah,” Frank smiles, and then berates himself when Gerard smiles back, because Gerard’s smile is cute, and he definitely 100% cannot be having thoughts like that about his daughter’s new girl scout leader. “I, uh, am not totally the best at interacting with kids who aren’t Griffon, but I’m up for helping in any way I can, if you ever need someone to help with anything,” He says, and then, “I hope the tattoos aren’t an issue.”

Gerard grins, saying, “That’s great, we try to utilize our volunteers as much as possible to help out. There’s twenty five girls in the troop, so we need all the help we can get,” and then, making a hand gesture as if to say it’s fine, “And don’t worry about it. Lindsey has an upper arm sleeve and the girls love it. All of our parents are great and really nice, I’m sure everyone will love you.”

“Twenty five girls? That sounds like… a lot.”

“Yeah, uh,” Gerard says, laughing in a way that suggest complete and utter exhaustion, “It is. We’re a multilevel troop, we have Daisies, Brownies, and Juniors. Most of them are brownies, but still. It is definitely more than your average troop.” He takes a moment to breathe and smile at Frank. “We make it work, though, and I wouldn’t trade any of the girls in the troop for the world. They’re all like my kids, in some ways.”

“Do you have… a daughter in the troop, then?” Frank asks, trying not to seem like he’s prying.

“Nah,” Gerard says, easy as that. “Don’t have any kids, not sure I ever will. But a couple years ago when Lindsey was looking for a daisy troop for her daughter Bandit, and decided eventually to form her own, she somehow managed to rope me in, and now here I am. Turns out I’m really good with the girls, so I usually take the lead and Lindsey helps however I ask her to.”

That sounds… unconventional, Frank thinks, but he honestly thinks it’s awesome. He peers into the back of Gerard’s car, and sees… a lot more than just the box of craft supplies. “Do you need help carrying any of that in?”

“That would be awesome, actually. Thank you.” Frank gives some things to Griffon, grabs a few things himself, and between the three of them, they manage to get everything into the church. Frank helps Gerard setup while Griffon explores, and eventually girls and parents start filtering in. They all look… intimidating, Frank thinks. But they’re all really nice, and several of them compliment his tattoos.

The girls are just kinda hanging out and playing, until one girl walks in, sees Gerard, and yells, “Mom!” Then all the girls look up at Gerard as if they have only just realized he’s there, and they all yell it, too. Frank thinks this is pretty strange, but all of the parents and Gerard himself are just laughing.

After that, it’s still intimidating, and Frank is still anxious, but it’s… better. Griffon and the other girls seem to be getting along really well, and he’s managed to strike up a conversation with the other parents. It’s so nice, he barely registers the little twist in his stomach when a woman with a half sleeve comes in and Gerard kisses her on the cheek. This must be Lindsey, Frank thinks, and then berates himself for the feeling he gets when she kisses him on the cheek, too. He’s his daughter’s girl scout leader, and it’s none of Frank’s business if these two are together. It’s not like he can ever be with Gerard.

***

(“Could I…” Gerard pauses, having pulled Frank aside after the meeting, thinking carefully about what he wants to say. “Speak with you, for a moment?”

_Fuck_ , Frank thinks, but agrees, stepping aside. Of course there’s a catch. Griffon had had so much fun, had made friends with all the other brownies by the time the meeting was over, and all the parents had been so cool. Of course there’s a catch.

“Cool!” Gerard says, and grins at Frank. Gerard grins a lot. “Okay, so… here’s the thing.” Frank prepares himself for the worst. “I know that you guys were in two different troops before coming to us,” He begins, and Frank thinks, yep, there it fucking is. But Gerard is still smiling gently at him. “And I don’t want you to tell me anything you’re uncomfortable telling me, not at the price of your or Griffon’s trust or well being, but… If it’s alright, I was wondering if you wouldn’t mind explaining why exactly you left those troops?” Frank obviously has an anxious look, because Gerard puts his hands up, as though Frank is a wild animal that Gerard is trying to keep from freaking out.

“If not, it’s totally cool! I just wanted to ask because we had… a problem child, I guess you could say, a couple weeks back, and she had been in a couple different troops, and counsel wouldn’t tell us why she had left those troops, so we didn’t find out till it was a couple weeks too late that she was a bully to the other girls and her mom didn’t do anything to stop it.”

Obviously, this doesn’t make things better, and Frank hates to out Griffon without her explicit permission, but Frank really doesn’t want Gerard to think anything badly of her. Plus, he’s really just hoping that… Gerard is _cool_ , in a way the other leaders weren’t. So Frank lays it all out. “Well, so… it was a couple different things,” he says, and glances over to where Griffon and Bandit are playing in the foyer of the church while Lindsey watches and obviously pretends she’s not waiting for Gerard to come tell her everything they talk about. “One was, uh… the way I look, I guess.” He cringes. “I’m a studio musician, and in a local punk band, so the tattoos are just part of the _look_ , you know? Part of the culture. But a lot of parents from the previous troops didn’t like it, I guess, and they weren’t very subtle about it. Once Griffon started asking why the other parents didn’t like me, I was ready to flee.” Gerard is listening attentively, with a genuinely kind smile on his face, and Frank takes a deep breath. Here comes the big one, the one that counts.

“The bigger… issue we’ve come across is that, uh, well... “ Frank tries to think of a way to say it without alarming Gerard. “Griffon is… different from other girls her age.”

He cringes at this, but Gerard just tucks some of his hair behind his ear and asks, “How, so?”

“Well, she wasn’t…” Frank purses his lips. “Born… a girl. That’s the main thing.”

“ _Oh_ ,” Gerard says, and then, “Oh!” Frank is waiting for it to go bad, but Gerard’s smile just widens at this. “She’s trans! Okay, that’s awesome! I was expecting something awful, honestly. I’m really glad! That’s so cool!” And Gerard really is acting like that’s the coolest thing in the world, is the thing.

“Yeah?” Frank asks, timidly. He’s not ready to get his hopes up just yet. “I don’t need to find a new troop, or just give up altogether?”

“Definitely not,” Gerard says, grinning again, and claps Frank on the shoulder. “That’s really awesome, and I’m so happy that she has such a cool dad to support her.” Frank is definitely not blushing now. “Oh! By the way: I think your tattoos are really awesome.” He’s still grinning, and honestly, doesn’t his face get tired?

Frank thinks he hears _something else_ in the tone he says the last part in, but it’s probably just wishful thinking.)


	2. friendly and helpful

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I don’t get it,” Jamia says later, when Frank is telling her all about the exchange over skype. “How are you having a gay crisis _now_ , when you’ve been dating men for years?”
> 
> “It’s not that he’s a man,” Frank says, rolling his eyes. Jamia _knows_ he’s suffering and she’s _making fun of him_ for it. “It’s that he’s, you know, my daughter’s fucking girl scout leader. It’s, like, illegal to date girl scout leaders! I think. I’m pretty sure.”
> 
> (in which there is questionable purchases made at target and frank is a big dumb stupid idiot man)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HEWWO????
> 
> hi uh. hi. yall. hello. i'm currently sitting at my kitchen table after calling in to work b/c my arthritis is kicking in big time due to the TERRIBLE FUCKING WEATHER in oklahoma right now, and i just finished crying my eyes out about my life which is EXTREMELY GOING DOWN HILL. i had already had about half of this chapter written forever ago; what that means is that the next chapter is probably gonna take much longer to finish b/c i'm impatient and incapable of like...writing several chapters and then staggering posting them. thanks for sticking with me and being patient, i hope the second chapter is everything you ever dreamed of!

The troop meets every other Friday, which, Frank thinks, is good for his heart; the less amount of time he spends around Gerard the better, probably. This, however, doesn’t keep life from throwing him curveballs, which is how he’s ended up in Target on a Sunday afternoon, shopping with Gerard, even though he barely knows the man.

He and Griffon had gone for just a few things, but as is often the case with Target, they got pulled in, and now their basket is almost full of shit they definitely don’t need, but Frank is obviously going to buy anyway. About twenty minutes ago, they ran into Gerard, and when it turned out they were going in the same direction, they just somehow… stuck together.

Gerard is wearing a leather jacket and the tightest damn pants Frank has ever seen, and he looks like something straight out of Frank’s dreams. Frank spends so much time silently horrified at his attraction towards the other man and trying to come up with ways to keep Griffon from noticing that that is, indeed, _Gerard_ twenty feet down the aisle, that he doesn’t realize until it’s too late that Griffon has already noticed and is, in fact, running down the aisle and yelling Gerard’s name.

“Hey!” Gerard’s loud, endearing voice is enough to knock Frank out of his stupor, and he watches on in horror as Gerard kneels down on one knee to give Griffon a hug. “What’s up!!!” Somehow, he manages to make the extra exclamation points audible.

“Hi,” Frank says, slowly pushing his basket towards them. “Sorry about her.” Gerard just grins at him.

“It’s totally fine!” He says, standing up and dusting his knees off. Frank is about to say something else when he glances into Gerard’s basket and sees three copies of Fifty Shades of Grey. He is very confused and slightly concerned until Gerard realizes he’s seen it, and flails around some before saying, “Okay! I know what you’re thinking, but! It’s _not_ what it looks like.”

“What… is it, then?” Frank asks, bemused.

“So, like,” Gerard starts, and Frank tries to ignore how cute he is when he’s flustered. “Lindsey and I are both artists. Of, like, various mediums. And we’re making… a collage!”

“You’re making a collage… using Fifty Shades of Grey.” Somehow, Frank actually believes that he’s telling the truth. It’s totally something Gerard would do, girl scout leader or not.

“Yeah!” Gerard grins big, from ear to ear. “It’s gonna be, like, commentary on safe… uh... “ He suddenly seems to realize there is a seven year old standing right next to them, and stops, at a complete loss for how to finish his sentence. “A commentary on, um, respecting women! Yeah!” Frank totally knows what Gerard was about to say, and allows himself to briefly entertain thoughts of of Gerard and the term _safe, sane, and consensual_ in the same breadth before shoving it away into the back of his brain, where all his other inappropriate thoughts about Gerard reside.

Anyway, it began in the yogurt aisle with three copies of Fifty Shades, and somehow, without Frank’s permission, it has progressed to them walking around the store for thirty minutes together. What Frank is realizing from the experience is that Gerard seems to live and breathe like a broke college kid, diet consisting mostly of things like cheap ramen bought in bulk, and vanilla flavored almond milk, and Frank honestly has trouble comprehending why anyone let this man be in charge of twenty five young girls every other week. He stands back and watches Gerard make up a weird rhyme about every item Griffon points to, though, and he really thinks there’s probably no one better for the job.

Against all odds, they’ve somehow found themselves in the board game aisle now, and Gerard is going on and on to Griffon, telling her all about his favorite tabletop game, Betrayal at House on the Hill. It sounds spooky and possibly a little inappropriate, but Griffon for sure inherited Frank’s love for horror, so she’s super into it.

Gerard is explaining to Griffon that he always plays as an eight year old girl named Zoe, because his favorite haunt is one where she controls voodoo dolls around the house, and on the chance they end up with it, he’s determined to be the bad guy, and Frank… falls a little in love.

“Wow,” Frank says, without even thinking about the words coming out of his mouth. At Gerard’s questioning glance, he continues, “You’re such a nerd.” It’s not till after these words that he realizes what he’s just said, and to whom. He’s about to backtrack and apologize, but Gerard just quirks a crooked smile in his direction.

“You’re right,” Gerard says. “I _am_ a nerd. But I get the feeling you’re just as much of a nerd as I am.”

Before Frank can even think of a response, Griffon is nodding her head very seriously and chiming in with, “Yeah! Yeah, Gerard! He is!” Frank acts offended at this, but it’s just to hear Griffon’s infectious laugh. Gerard must find it infectious, too, because they both just die laughing in the middle of the aisle.

They eventually calm down, and high five each other. “How did I end up with two kids today?” Frank asks, and Gerard looks him up and down with a strange look before smiling and saying, “I don’t know, Dad, how did you?” The fact that Frank finds this attractive is concerning to him.

They eventually make their way to the checkout line, and, without Frank’s complete permission, end up back to back in the same line. Frank pays for all the groceries and other shit they bought that they didn’t need, and somehow Griffon convinces him to stay till Gerard is all checked out, too.

“So,” Gerard says, once they’ve walked out of the store together. “I guess this is goodbye.”

“Yeah, uh… Bye,” Frank says, lamely, for wont of something better to say.

“I bid thee farewell, fair maiden,” Gerard curtsies to Griffon, “sir knight,” He curtsies to Frank now. Griffon giggles and curtsies back; Frank just waves awkwardly.

“Yeah, uh… Bye,” Frank says, again, for wont of something better to say, again. “See you Friday?”

“Not if I see you first!” Gerard grins at him and winks, and that’s when Frank knows he’s in trouble.

***

(“I don’t get it,” Jamia says later, when Frank is telling her all about the exchange over skype. “How are you having a gay crisis _now_ , when you’ve been dating men for years?”

“It’s not that he’s a _man_ ,” Frank says, rolling his eyes. Jamia _knows_ he’s suffering and she’s _making fun of him_ for it. “It’s that he’s, you know, my daughter’s fucking girl scout leader. It’s, like, illegal to date girl scout leaders! I think. I’m pretty sure.”

“Yeah,” Jamia says, nodding sagely. “You’re going to jail for sure.”

“Stop being mean to me and make me feel better, you bitch,” Frank replies, and she just laughs.

“I don’t see what the big deal is, Frankie. He’s a cute guy. You ask him out, you take him to dinner, you fuck his—”

“ _Enough_ ,” Frank growls. Jamia keeps laughing.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey! if you uh! liked that! you should lmk! feel free to follow me on tumblr @ nonbinarybertmccracken.tumblr.com. i don't ever post about this particular fic b/c my sister follows me and i DON'T need her to know that i'm writing a goddamn fanfiction that involves girl scouts, but...i do talk about dumb frerard aus sometimes, like uh. a larper/historical reenactor au. i also talk a ton of about frank/gerard/bert and gerbert if you're into either of those so! yeah feel free 2 hmu there


	3. considerate and caring

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pretty soon they’re texting basically nonstop, and Frank knows way more about Gerard than he ever particularly would have liked to. He knows that Gerard is allergic to cats, but still loves them. He knows that Gerard went to art school, and that he has been lucky enough to strike a deal with various investors and now makes a living income off of art commissions. Most importantly, and, perhaps worst of all, he knows that Gerard likes men.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hewwo...........i'm SO SORRY about how long this took but i warned that it would be slow as fuck updates. accept more of frank being a dumbass as my apology?
> 
> i uh am not really sure what else to say lol i've been having (atypical) seizures all day and my brain is kinda fucked up rn and all i can really think about is how much i love and would die for evan aka ao3 user viciousvenin aka tumblr user subarulesbian (aka tumblr user kobrakids) and that i'm gonna write a fic based off our epic love story but like not right now. but some day.
> 
> anyway this is dedicated to evan whom i adore, i dont actually know how gay men interact w other sga men or how men interact romantically at all bc i'm a big lesbian but for the sake of this fic lets pretend that gbpq guys tend to be as useless as lesbians are usually even if thats not true

Frank had had to give Gerard his number early on in their (working) relationship so that Gerard could send him important girl scouts news and important updates. This had been fine. Frank is an adult, he can cope with his crush while maintaining a healthy working volunteer relationship with Gerard.

It had been fine, that is, until one night at midnight. It’s a Saturday, and it’s _midnight_ , and Frank is sitting in his bedroom playing around on his acoustic when he receives a text message. Expecting it to be Jamia making fun of him again, he looks at it, just to see that it’s actually from Gerard.

_Hey,_ it says. _Are you awake? Can I show you something?_

Frank’s really not sure what to expect, here. He doubts think Gerard is about to send him a dick pic (but, God, wouldn’t that be incredible). Maybe some instagram meme? But they’re really not at that level in their friendship; of this Frank is pretty sure. Then again, Gerard definitely seems the type to just randomly send people instagram memes. That’s just who he is as a person. _uhhhh yeah, sure,_ he says, and prepares himself for the worst.

In the end, Gerard just sends him a picture of a paper collage. It takes a moment for Frank to realize the pieces of paper are, in fact, pages from Fifty Shades of Grey. It’s kind of amazing, and Frank is kind of in love. This is the beginning of their texting relationship.

 

Pretty soon they’re texting basically nonstop, and Frank knows way more about Gerard than he ever particularly would have liked to. He knows that Gerard is allergic to cats, but still loves them. He knows that Gerard went to art school, and that he has been lucky enough to strike a deal with various investors and now makes a living income off of art commissions. Most importantly, and, perhaps, worst of all, he knows that Gerard likes men.

_Yeah_ , Gerard had said one evening, after Frank had explained that he had had a short thing with Jamia in college, but the moment she discovered women, it was over, and they’re still friends today. _My ex boyfriend and I are like that. His name is Bert and he’s super cool and I’m really glad I have him in my life now, even if we didn’t work out romantically_.

Frank doesn’t respond to this, is the thing. It’s not that he’s _avoiding_ it, it’s just that he opened the text at the least opportune time and is now reeling from the fact that Gerard likes guys, too, and also that he’s not currently in a position to respond because he’s busy in the studio freelancing some guitar work. It’s not till an hour later, when Gerard sends another message, that he realizes he never responded.

_Wow_ , Gerard’s message says. _That was totally inappropriate of me, wasn’t it? I’m sorry, I don’t know why I said that, no one really knows that I’m gay, I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable, sorry again._ Frank feels like the world’s biggest fuck up.

_no!_ Frank responds immediately. _i was just busy and i forgot to respond! i’m sorry, that was totally shitty of me, oh my god. seriously, it’s not a problem. i’m bi, myself, and really have a preference for guys, these days. no biggie._

_Oh cool!_ Gerard responds a few minutes later, and Frank wonders if it really is that cool. It’s not that his sexuality is a secret or anything, but it’s also not something he tends to just lay out there for everyone to see. _It seems so rare to find other gay or bi guys around here._ Gerard continues. _We should form a club._

 

They don’t form a club, but at the next girl scout meeting, when Frank gets up and offers to corral daisies (which is something he would never do for anyone but Gerard), Gerard shoots him this stunning smile that Frank can’t help but read a little bit into. It’s different from other smiles he’s seen on Gerard, even other smiles directed at him. A little wider, a little sloppier, a little less controlled.

Shortly after the meeting, Frank, Gerard, and Lindsey are the only volunteers left at the church and Bandit and Griffon have been playing with the old school vacuum cleaner for five minutes. Frank and Lindsey are swapping tattoo and band stories, when Gerard walks up, stops next to Frank, and places a hand on the small of his back. Frank tries not to freeze up as he shoots a glance towards Gerard, but Gerard shows no outward sign that he even realizes what this may cause Frank to think, just chimes in with a, “Man, I would love to be in a band someday,” and rubs a small circle into Frank’s back with his thumb.

He _has_ to know, Frank thinks. They flirt all the time and even snapchat each other, and not even Gerard, as open with his feelings that he is, would nonchalantly place his hand so low on Frank’s back without realizing he's implying that he may like Frank back.

Eventually, Lindsey packs Bandit up and leaves, and Gerard and Frank are left alone while Griffon gets her shoes on. Frank is still struggling to process the sloppy smile and the hand on his back that he isn’t really processing any of their conversation, not till he goes in for a side hug and Gerard pulls him into a full embrace, burying his face in the nape of Frank’s neck, and Frank realizes he’s even more screwed than he had previously thought.

 

(“God,” Jamia says, and Frank can’t see her face through the phone call but he bets that she’s judging him. “You are so fucking stupid. Just tell him you like him! There’s no way he doesn’t like you back!”

“Fuck you!” Frank says, a little too loud, and then after making sure Griffon didn’t hear, he says it again a little quieter. “Fuck you, you’ve never even met the man in your life, you can’t possibly know how he feels about me.”

“ _Frank_ ,” Jamia says, as though she’s talking to a toddler. “He hugged you and stayed there for so long you thought maybe he was stuck! No man does that, not even a gay man, unless he likes the person he’s hugging.”

But Jamia’s a lesbian anyway, and the only man she’s ever dated has been him, Frank thinks, so there’s no way she knows how men interact romantically. Frank is a bad example because Frank doesn’t know how to interact in most social situations, plus they were in college at the time they dated, and everyone knows guys in college are not the same as adult men.

Having decided that Jamia clearly has no idea what she’s talking about, Frank asks her about her new girlfriend to get her to change the subject, and vows to never say anything about Gerard to her again.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> in this scenario evan is gerard, i am frank, and jamia is my friend jay who wants me dead. also gerard's ex boyfriend and all around cool guy bert mccracken is definitely gonna visit at some point and fuck things up (by this i mean he's going to greatly embarrass gerard by telling frank stories about him and exposing gerard for the weird nerd that he is (which frank already was aware of, but moreso than before now, thanks to bert))

**Author's Note:**

> so there it is! again, please let me know if you liked it!
> 
> title/chapter titles come from the girl scout law, which goes:
> 
> i will do my best to be  
> honest and fair  
> friendly and helpful  
> considerate and caring  
> courageous and strong  
> responsible for what i say and do  
> and to respect myself and others  
> respect authority  
> use resources wisely  
> make the world a better place  
> and be a sister to every girl scout
> 
> OH YEA LOL SHOUT OUT TO EVAN HEY DUDE GERARD DRIVES A SUBARU IN THIS AND ITS THANKS TO YOU


End file.
